Growing Up
by ally862
Summary: Just a quick story of how I wish First Date had ended. My first fanfic but reading all the stories on here inspired me and I couldn't get this out of my head. I don't own New Girl or anything involved with it but I love it all!


Nick leaned against the door and felt everything crushing down on him. He'd been so hopeful about their date and nothing had gone the way he wanted it to. If he could just be honest with her, maybe it would have. But why should he be the one to have to say it first? He'd kissed her first and he'd been the one to call her out on wanting to sleep with him. He'd put himself out there. He'd risked it. Didn't she need to say how she felt just as much as he did? But he'd also been the first one to walk away from both situations. Maybe it was time for him to take a real risk and not run away after.

He walked out of his room and hesitated outside her closed door. With his right hand on the door frame he wrapped his left hand around her doorknob and tried to turn it but couldn't. Instead his hand slid up the door and he stared, imagining her on the other side. He closed his eyes, leaned his forehead against the door and took a deep breath.

"Love, Jess" he said quietly but loud enough that he knew she'd hear. "That's what I wrote on my card."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the doorknob slowly turn and he grabbed it, pulling the door shut.

"No, don't" he said. "Just...let me get this out OK?" He took another breath before he continued. "I'm scared Jess. I'm not good at talking abut how I feel and this time its even scarier than before. There's so much more at stake and I don't think I've ever felt this way about anyone before. Ugh, that sounds so cliche" he said shaking his head.

He chuckled bitterly as he continued "The worst part about this is that I'm completely on my own because I don't have you to talk it through with. You always know what I'm thinking before I do. You always help me figure out what the right thing to do is and I don't know what to do here Jess! I'm terrified that if I tell you how I feel that I'll scare you off and lose you as a friend." He paused as he tried to hold back the fear he felt at the idea of not having her in his life. "I need you too much to let that happen."

He laughed again as he said "You push my buttons and you drive me crazy and sometimes I can't even stand to be in the same room with you, but, I need you Jess. More than anyone else in my life, I need you."

He paused "And I love you. OK? I said it. I'm in love with you. Its like another big cosmic joke on Nick Miller. I need you because I love you but I'm afraid to be with you because I need you too much to risk losing you." He rubbed his hands over his face and tried to stop himself from running back to his room, feeling himself start to put the wall back up now that he'd laid it all out like that. "So yeah. You wanted to know what I'm feeling. There it is."

He looked down to see the doorknob turning and he swore he stopped breathing as she opened the door. She stood in front of him, holding on to the doorknob for security, her eyes welled up with tears that hadn't spilled over yet. She smiled at him "It sounds like you did a pretty good job of figuring it out yourself this time."

"Yeah well I had a good teacher. Listen Jess-"

"No" she said putting her hand on his chest and holding on to his shirt. "You got to talk. Its my turn now." She looked down at the floor nervously as she went on "I'm scared too Nick. Terrified. But...I-I love you too. I don't want to pretend I don't anymore."

A huge grin spread across his face and he felt all the tension on his body disappear. He reached out to her, cupping her face in one hand and wrapping his other arm around her waist to pull her close to him.

"I don't want to pretend either" he smiled. "I love you Jessica".

"I love you too Miller" she grinned as they finally shared the sweetest, surest kiss yet.

They finally pulled apart from the kiss but Nick kept his arms wrapped around her and she absentmindedly played with the buttons on his shirt.

"Look at you. Being all grown up and talking about your feelings" she said in one of the cute voices she did.

"Yeah well one of us had to be the adult in this relationship" he said and they both felt their stomachs jump in excitement at the word. "Since we're being adults though, does that mean we lift the middle school dance rule?"

"Well, there is one middle school dance related aspect I think we should keep." Jess grinned as Nick looked down at her with a confused expression on his face. "I mean, I'm pretty sure the Humpty dance was always played at my school dances and it has been awhile since I got to listen to "Nick Miller's sexy mix" she laughed.

"I think we should definitely keep that one then" he said as he leaned in to kiss her again.


End file.
